Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court

From Worldatplay

The Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. The position is currently held by Manuel Peralta.

[edit] Duties

The power to appoint the Chief Justice lies with the President, who makes the selection from a list of 3 nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council. There is no material difference in the process of selecting a Chief Justice from that in the selection of Associate Justices. As with the other Justices of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice is obliged to retire upon reaching the age of 70, otherwise there is no term limit for the Chief Justice.

The Constitution does not ascribe any formal role to the Chief Justice other than as an ex-officio Chairman of the Judicial and Bar Council and as the presiding officer in any impeachment trial of the President. The Chief Justice is also required to personally certify every decision that is rendered by the Court. He or she carries only 1 vote out of 15 in the Court, and is generally regarded, vis-a-vis the other Justices, as the primus inter pares rather than as the administrative superior of the other members of the Court.

Still, the influence a Chief Justice may bear within the Court and judiciary, and on the national government cannot be underestimated. In the public eye, any particular Supreme Court is widely identified with the identity of the incumbent Chief Justice, hence appellations such as "The Concepcion Court", "The Fernando Court", or "The Puno Court". Moreover, the Chief Justice usually retains high public visibility, unlike the Associate Justices who tend to labor in relative anonymity, with exceptions such as Associate Justice J.B.L. Reyes in the 1950s to 1970s.

By tradition, it is also the Chief Justice who swears into office the President of the Philippines.